Automatic station selector



Dec. 10, 1935. R BOWERMAN 2,023,509

AUTOMATIC STATION SELECTOR Original Filed Aug. 1, 1951 4 s t sh t l 9f 0000045000000 0 lgoll/L nvvsxvro R s Dec 10, 1935.

R. BOWERMAN AUTOMATIC STATION SELECTOR Origirial Filed Aug- 1, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 [/VVE/V OR Dec. 10, 1935. R. BOWERMAN AUTOMATIC STATION SELECTOR Original Filed Aug. 1, 1951 a/' aoE 32 33 42 3/ W 11 2 4&

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Aug. 1, 1951 4 s t s t 4 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 1, 1931, Serial No. 554,450 Renewed April 29, 1934 9 Claims.

This invention relates primarily to an automatic station selector for use in conjunction with radio receiving sets whereby the radio receiver can be set in advance to play any station desired at any time desired and for any desired period of time, or to automatically tune in or out at any predetermined time, or to automatically change from one station to another at previously fixed times or periods.

Another object is to provide mechanism of the above character capable of being previously set to tune in any previously selected station or stations, and to adjust the volume of the receiving set to suit.

A still further object is to provide a device of the above character which can be easily and quickly connected to or combined with any receiving set without in any way altering the same, and which will be simple in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter and, while I have shown and will describe the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to such preferred form but that various changes and adaptations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my selector positioned ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly broken away, to show the interior.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged detail views of parts of my device.

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic view of my invention.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of my device.

Fig. 9 is the electrical circuit employed in my invention.

Fig. 10 is a side view of my device.

Fig. 11 is another fragmentary detail of my device.

Referring to the drawings my invention comprises an outer case or housing H which is preferably rectangular in front elevation and is provided with an extension 12 extending upwardly from the top wall thereof, and in the upper termination of this extension is formed an opening I3 which forms a view opening for the face of the clock l4. Clock M is securely mounted upon the rear face of the front wall and has its main shaft l5, which carries the hour hand I 6, projecting through the rear wall. of the clock case l'l. Rigidly mounted upon the said projecting end of the shaft I5 is a boss I8, of insulating material from which extends radially an arm 19 and carried by this arm is a contact member 20, preferably of spring material such as brass 5 or the like, adapted to contact with the posts 2| during the rotation of said shaft 15. A connector 22 is mounted upon the underside of the arm 19 with its outer end contacting with the contact member 20 and its inner end terminat- 10 ing upon the projecting end of the boss I8. Rigidly mounted in the housing ll adjacent to the rear wall of the clock case ll and concentric therewith is an annular cup 23 of insulating material and provided in the inner face of the rim 24 thereof are a plurality of recesses 25 and mounted within these recesses are a plurality of posts 2 I, there being one post in each of said recesses. The inner ends of these posts 2| are reduced in size and are screw threaded and these threaded ends project through openings 26 in the bottom wall of the cup 23 and are then connected to the wires 21 by means of the nuts 28. Secured at one end to the inner face of the bottom wall of the cup 23, eccentric to the shaft i5 is a contact member 29 the other end of which is provided with a contact button 30 which is positioned centrally of the hub or boss I 8 and bears against the face of the contact member 20.

Provided through the front wall of the hous- 30 ing an integral part of the bracket 3'! which racket is rigidly secured to the inner face of said front wall as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Formed in the outer wall of the dial 33 are a plurality of concentric slots 38 and 39 and formed in the opposite wall thereof are a plurality of concentric slots 40 and M which said slots are in register with the slots in the outer wall but the latter slots are wider than the inner slots. Movably mounted within the outer slots 38 and 39 are the locking sleeves 42 the inner ends of which normally bear against the inner face of the inner wall and the outer ends of which extend for a distance beyond the outer face of said outer wall and terminate in buttons 43 provided as a. means of rotating said sleeves These 35 as hereafter explained. Revolubly mounted within the sleeves 4 2 are the station pins 44, the inner ends of which project through the slots 40 and ii and these projecting ends are screw threaded and provided with nuts 415. The outer ends of the pins M extend for a distance beyond the outer ends of the sleeves 42 and terminate in heads it which provide means of rotating said pins as hereafter explained.

Formed in the inner walls of the dials 33 and 34 are concentric openings 4'! and 48 and surrounding these openings are inwardly projecting flanges i9 and Formed on the inner periphery of the flange ld are gear teeth 5| which form an internal gear and in operative engagement with said gear teeth is a spur gear 52. Gear 52 is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 53, which shaft is rotatably mounted within a journal 5% integrally formed in the bracket 3?, near the inner end thereof. Rigidly mounted upon the shaft 53 near the innermost face of the journal 5 3i is a radio condenser 55 of any usual or desired type. Formed integrally on the bracket 31 midway between the dials 33 and M is a rectangular plate 56 and rigidly mounted upon the face of this plate are two pairs of electromagnets 5'I5ii and 59t0 extending horizontally, the magnets of each pair being disposed in opposed relation to each other. Slidably mounted in bearings 6i and 62, projecting from the face of the plate 56 between the pairs of magnets, are rods 63 and 66, which are disposed horizontally and extending from these rods to a point between the opposed ends of the magnets are arms 65 and 6'6 on the outermost ends of which are secured the armatures 61 and adapted to be attracted. by the magnets as the same are energized as hereafter explained. One of the ends of the rods 63 and 64 project beyond the outer ends of the magnets and integrally connected at one end to these projecting ends are bars as and 10 which pass behind or across the inner face of the dials to a point just past the innermost row of the slots therein and formed in the inner faces of these rods are grooves 1i and 12 which are of a size to permit the passage of the projecting ends of the dial pins 45. It will be noted that there are two of these grooves in each of said rods but that the spacing therebetween is less than the spacing between the said slots. Pivotally mountedintermediate their ends upon the face of the bracket 31 between the ends of the magnets and the dials are levers 13 and M the upper ends of which are bifurcated and straddle the rods 63 and 64.

Provided on the said rods 83 and 64 at each side of the bifurcated ends of the levers 13 and 14 are collars l5 and 16 which act, when said rods are moved, to rock said levers on their pivots. Projecting outwardly from plate 5% at the bottom edge thereof is an abutment 11, preferably of insulating material and mounted upon the upper face of this abutment are pairs of contact members 18 and 1d, these members being positioned in the path of the lower end of the levers 13 and it so that said lower ends will act to bridge the gap between said pairs of contacts as hereafter explained.

Formed on the inner periphery of the flange 50 of the dial 33 are gear teeth 85 forming a plurality of internal gear segments SI, and normally in operative engagement with said gear teeth is a spur gear 82. Gear 82 is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 83, which shaft is rotatably mounted in a journal 84 integrally formed with the bracket 31. Rigidly mounted upon the shaft 83 at the innermost end thereof is a sheave or grooved segment 85 over which is passed a cord 36, one end thereof being secured to one edge of said segment and the other end passing over a grooved pulley B1, rotatably mounted in a bearing 33, and thence down- 5 wardly and carrying upon its free end a weight 89. Rigidly secured at one end to the outer periphery of the dial 355 and passing once around the same is a belt or strap 95 which strap passes over a pulley 9i, and thence downwardly and carries a 10 weight 92 on its lower end. Mounted upon the bottom wall of the housing II is a standard 93 and rigidly mounted upon this standard at regularly spaced intervals to extend upwardly are electro or solenoid magnets 9t each of which is provided with a movable core or solenoid 95 the upper end of which terminates in a catch 96. Projecting through the front wall of the housing II are a plurality of rods 9'1 the outer ends of which terminate in push buttons 98 and the 20 inner ends of which project across the top of the solenoids t5, there being one such rod for each of said solenoids. The inner ends of the rods 91 are slidably mounted in the upper end of brackets 99 extending upwardly from the standard 93. Secured upon the underside of each of said rods 91, immediately above the solenoid magnets 94 are projections m0 and in the lower face of these projections are provided notches I0! and I02 which are adapted to cooperate with the catches 8 to lock said rods in their adjusted positions. Extending transversely of the housing II at a suitable distance above the magnets 94 is a bar I03 of insulating material and mounted upon the underside of this bar immediately above each of the rods 91 is a spring contact member I04 which curves downwardly and forwardly.

Mounted upon the upper face of the bar I03 and projecting downwardly therethrough, through suitable openings, are spring contact members Iiiii which are positioned immediately above each of the magnets 94, and these contacts extend downwardly and terminate a short distance above the rods 91. Projecting upwardly from the upper face of each of the rods 01 is a pair of spaced knobs Iilii and I0! and these knobs are adapted to engage the lower end of the contacts I05 as hereafter explained.

Extending transversely of the housing H just above the bar I03 are spaced bus bars 403 and I09 and the contacts Hi5 are connected by wires IIO to the upper bus bar let While the contacts I04 are connected by wires IE I to the lower bus bar M0. Bar its is connected by wire NZ to the lever '53 and bar I09 is connected by wire II3 to lever 14. Contact 18 is connected by wire II4 to one side of the magnet Contact 18a is connected by wire 5 E5 to one side of the magnet 51. Contact 19 is connected by wire IIB to one side of the magnet til. Contact 13a is connected by wire I I1 to one side of the magnet as. The other sides of the said magnets are connected to a common ground H3. Each of the posts ZI is connected by a wire I I9 to one side of one of the solenoid magnets 94. The other side of each magnet 94 is connected by a wire I20 to a contact I2I secured to the innerside of the front face for the housing II immediately below the push rods 91. The free end of the contacts I2I bears against the under side of push rods 91. Contact 29 by wire 522 to a source of electrical energy, as shown, mounted on a rear wall of the cup 33, or a plurality of arcuate members I23, preferably of brass which are adapted to engage and close gap between contacts I24 and I25. Contacts I24 and I form, in effect, an automatic switch through which the radio receiver is connected to the usual source of electrical energy.

In the operation of my device, the parts will normally be in the position shown in drawings, it being understood that the lines I25 and I26 of the indicia correspond to the different stations. The index I25 being for the volume control and the index I26 for the station broadcasting.

To set the device, both of the dials 33 and 34 are rotated one complete revolution to the left, then release the station and volume buttons 42 and 44 by rotating same to the left one-half a revolution. Beginning at right center, slip these buttons in line with any station desired by number and tighten by turning to right, then press I the station pins 44 inwardly, then operate the desired time buttons 91 by moving the same inwardly or outwardly, according to whether it is desired to have the device operate on the hour or the one-half hour. If it is desired to have the volume changed, the buttons will be pressed inwardly. If, however, the various stations it is desired to play use the same volume, then the button will be pulled outwardly, for instance, if it is desired to play station A, then station B and then station C, A to commence at '7 A. M. and play until 8:30 A. M. and then B to commence and play until 9 A. M. and then cease playing until 11:30 A. M. and then to have C come on the air, the operation would be as follows: Turn both dials to the left one turn and play stations A and B at the line of the stations by numbers at the first section at the right. Always alternate in setting stations and neutral buttons and pins from one line to another, having already placed the stations A and B, push the first neutral pin at left. In the next section to the left, set station C as desired and push or pull the time buttons 9'! as you desire the connection to be made or broken. The dials are controlled by two weights or springs. The half pulley 85 is small. The dial pulley, which is on the outer rim is large. While the large pulley weight or spring would be bucking the half pulley 85 causing the dial to go around to station pin 44 where the station pin would lodge against the shift bar 69 and IE3. Then if the next station desired, would come in on a low frequency or if it were now on the last station pin to the left of that one section, then the drum pulley would force the throw back pulley 85 over until the dial pinion gear 83 would go into space between the section of the internal gears 8| allowing the half wheel pulley 85 to throw back until the release lug I would knock latch I3I out from against ratchet lugs I352 or if it were desired to stop at that time, the pin would have been pushed in at a neutral position socket I33 and so on around. The radio switch would be off or on at time required as the switch band I23 is in four sections fastened to inner side of dial 33 and station would come on only at such time as the switch spring I24 would be in position to be against band I23. The current would pass through transformers before entering at lead I22. The current will flow through wire I22 to the contact 29 through the contact 22, through the respective contacts 2i, through wire IIS to the magnet 94, thru magnet 24, wire I29 to the contact IZI through push rods 9?, and, in the event the push rod is pushed inwardly through the contact I04 and I05 and wires I I3 and I I I to the bus bars I 08 and I 89, through wire I I3 to lever I l, through contact 19a, wire II! to one side of magnet 60 through magnet 60 to ground Through wire I I2 to lever I3 through contact I8 to one side of magnet 58 and through magnet 58 to ground, thus, energizing magnet 68 and 58, causing same to attract armatures 6! and B33, shifting stop levers 69 and I0 permitting the station pins 44 the grooves ID or I2. i6 and II are spaced 2. less distance apart than the alternate station pins 44 and that the next station pin would be prevented from passing through the groovesv until the bars 69 and I0 are again moved into their former positions as above described.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1s:

1. An automatic station selector comprising a housing, a time switch mounted in said housing having time interval contacts thereon, a rotating contact for said time switch adapted to connect any one of said time interval contacts to a source of electrical energy, a plurality of manually operated switches mounted in said housing corresponding to said time interval contacts, connections from each of said time interval contacts to said manually operated switches, a pair of rotatable dials mounted in said housing, one of said dials being a station selector dial and the other dial being the volume control dial, each of said dials carrying a plurality of relatively adjustable selector pins adapted for selecting a station and controlling the volume respectively, means to automatically rotate said dials at predetermined times, and means controlled by said time switch for controlling the rotation of said dials.

2. A device of the character described comprising a housing; a time switch in said housing including time interval contacts; means to operate said time switch and connect said contacts to a source of electrical energy consecutively, a volume control dial rotatable in said housing having a plurality of stop pins adjustable around the same; means mounted in said housing capable of being projected into and out of the path of said stop pins to control the rotation of said dial; a station selector dial rotatably mounted in said housing and having a plurality of stop pins a-djustable radially around the same; means mounted in said housing capable of being projected into or out of the path of said last stop pins to control the rotation of said selector dial; a plurality of manually operable switches representing time intervals corresponding to the time intervals of the time switch interposed between said dial control means and time switch; and means to rotate said dials upon the operation of said dial control means.

3. An apparatus of the character described comprising a housing, a time control switch mounted in. said housing having time interval contacts therein; means to operate said time switch to connect the interval contacts to a source of electrical energy consecutively; a pair of dials rotatably mounted in said housing, one or said dials being a station selector and the other dial being a volume control dial; means carried by said dials for controlling the rotation thereof; means mounted in said housing adapted to ooact with said last means to permit a predetermined intermittent rotation of said dials; and a plurality of manually operable switches carried by said housing and interposed between the time switch and dial rotating means for controlling the time intervals between the rotative movements of said dials.

As will be noticed, these grooves 4. An apparatus of the character described comprising a housing; a time controlled switch mounted in said housing including interval contacts; means to operate said time switch to consecutively connect said contacts to a source of energy at equally spaced time intervals; a station selector dial and. a volume control dial rotatably mounted in said housing; means carried by each of said dials for controlling the rotation thereof; means mounted in said housing for controlling the time intervals between the rotative movements of said dials; electrical connections between said time interval contacts and said last means; and a plurality of manually operable switches in said housing interposed in said electrical connections for predetermining the time intervals.

5. An apparatus of the character described comprising a housing, a clock operated time switch mounted in said housing including time interval contacts and adapted toconnect said interval contacts to a source of energy consecutively; a station selector dial and a volume control dial rotatably mounted in said housing; adjustable means carried by each of said dials for controlling the amount of rotative movement of said dials; means to release said last means; a plurality of manually operable switches cooperating with said interval contacts; electrical connections between said switches and said dial releasing means; and means to rotate said dials upon the operation of said releasing means.

6. An apparatus of the character described comprising a cabinet, a time controlled switch mounted in said cabinet including a plurality of contacts arranged to be closed one at a time consecutively; means to operate said time controlled switch, a station selector dial and a volume control dial rotatably mounted in the wall of said cabinet, adjustable stop pins carried by each of said dials adjustable circumferentially, electrically operated stop bars mounted in said cabinet adapted for movement into and out of the path of said stop pins to coact with the same to limit the rotative movement of said dials, a plurality of manually operable switches mounted in said cabinet between said electrically operable stop bars and said time switch contacts, there being one of said switches for each of said contacts, adapted for controlling the movement of said stop bars for permitting the rotation of said dials at predetermined times, and means for rotating said dials upon the release of said stop bars.

'7. An apparatus of the character described comprising a housing, a time controlled switch mounted in said housing including a plurality of contacts arranged to be closed one at a time successively; means to operate said time controlled switch; a station selector dial and a volume control dial rotatably mounted in said housing each provided with a plurality of circumferentially adjustable stop pins for predetermining the amount of rotative movement thereof, stop bars mounted in said housing and adapted to be moved into 5 and out of the path of said stop pins to control the rotative movement of said dials, a plurality of manually controlled switches mounted in said housing, there being one of said switches for each of said time controlled switch contacts, means to 10 operate said stop bars at predetermined time intervals; connections between said stop bars and said manually controlled switches; connections between said manually controlled switches and said time switch contacts, and means to rotate 15 said dials.

8. An apparatus of the character described comprising a time controlled switch including a plurality of time interval contacts arranged to be closed at predetermined time intervals, one 20 at a time successively; means to operate said time switch; a selector dial and a volume control dial rotatably mounted; a pair of stop bars, one for .each dial, slidably mounted; a plurality of stop pins carried by each of said dials adjustable to 25 correspond to the dial positions for different stations, said stop bars being arranged for movement into and out of the path of rotation of said stop pins; means to operate said stop bars; a plurality of manually operated switches, there being one 30 of said switches for each of said time interval contacts; connections between said manually operated switches and said stop bar operating means; connections between said manually operated switches and said time interval contacts; a connection between said time controlled switch and a source of electrical energy; and means to rotate said dials upon the movement of said stop bars. 40

9. In an automatic station selector, a time switch having time interval contacts thereon, a movable contact for said time switch adapted to connect any one of said time interval contacts to a source of electrical energy, a plurality of 45 manually operated switches corresponding to said time interval contacts, connections from each of said time interval contacts to said manually operated switches, a pair of movable members, one of said members being a station selector, and the 50 other member being a Volume control, each of said members carrying a plurality of relatively adjustable selector pins adapted for selecting a station and for controlling the volume respectively, means to move said members at predetermined times, and means controlled by said time switch for controlling the movement of said members.

ROSCOE BOWERMAN. 

